Family Squabbles

The death of the head of a large family with a substantial estate reveals, in the power struggle that ensues, all of the unhealed wounds and undeveloped characters of the family members remaining. Sometimes, the family members' inability to reconcile with one another means that the inheritance will be squandered in the fighting with little or no benefit ever passing on to those who grabbed so fiercely for it. In the end, everyone loses but the lawyers.

Substitute "the Republicans" for the dying person and "Democrats" for the inheritors and as for the estate, that would be the States. And while Uncle Elephant may not be quite dead yet, the brutality with which the family is grabbing at the chance to be the executor of the will of the People, namely President, has convinced me that a Democratic Congress and Administration will be paralyzed with infighting once in the power.

Look at the issue of what to do with the 'delegates' from Michigan and Florida. At a recent party fundraiser in NYC, several major donors got into it with Howard Dean for not providing leadership on this issue. All sides have a sound-bite opinion about the right thing to do which curiously matches the decision that would most benefit them. It may very well be that the Bentley (or Air Force One) was promised to both claimants and sure, she did have the use of the Bentley on loan for years, and yes, he has never driven a stick shift before, but that is not the issue. The issue is that the sides are lining up, and each side is identified with only one outcome or else. Any 'leadership' in the 'wrong' direction yields escalations of rhetoric and more damage done.

I also look at how the Democrats, now in charge of both chambers of Congress, have been unable to use that majority to counteract the worst excesses of the current Administration. The Senate margin may be slim, but the Republicans passed miserably partisan proposals with the same slim margin. Yet from Mukasey confirmation to the recent gutting of the mortgage bailout of every Democratic initiative that might have actually helped for a watered-down bill that came out of committee was watered-down and only really had provisions to help builders and lenders and only a nod for the actual people in distress. Now the Democrats say they need a larger margin, but that will only up the stakes, not change the SOP. Look at the way the family is feuding in the election and you would feel justified in discounting the Democrats in the manner of the worst cliches of right-wing talk radio.

Some say the party will come together once the nominee has been chosen. I don't see it. But having lived in a family and observed the volcanic consequences of spiraling power struggles among those who know and love one another best, I do not see this settling sweetly into greeting card warmth any time this year or next. The time is past for the canditates to vie for the job based on their own statements about themselves and their own record of actions and initiatives.

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